a guide to improving your local environment - Keep Britain Tidy

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Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978, s.6 Gives councils the powers to remove from land open to the air or on a highway any thing that has been abandoned without lawful authority. If the land is occupied, the council must give notice of its intention to remove. Costs can be recovered from the person leaving the refuse or a person knowingly permitting it. www.encams.org Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949, s.4 A local authority can serve a notice requiring an owner to remove, at his own expense, accumulated waste where damage by pests is likely to occur. Costs can be recovered should the council have to remove it. What action can local authorities take Where a litter problem can be traced to certain types of business, such as takeaway food premises, the local authority can issue a Street Litter Control Notice. This is a formal notice to ensure the owner is made aware that it is their responsibility to keep the front of the premises, plus a reasonable distance either side, clear of litter. The owner or occupier of the land is then required to keep it free of litter. LITTER Local authorities should work in partnership with others to resolve the problem of street litter and seek to remedy it, where possible, through joint working and good management practice. Such an approach is fostered by Defra’s Voluntary Code of Practice for reducing litter caused by ‘Food on the Go’ which sets out recommendations to help businesses, local authorities, and other public and private sector bodies to work together. See http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/localenv/litter/pd f/fastfoodcop.pdf Local authorities can fine individuals for dropping litter and can use Litter Clearing Notices to require the clearance of private land that is heavily littered. Local authorities can serve Litter Abatement Notices on other duty bodies failing to keep their area free of litter and refuse. This ensures that the owner must clean up the area within a given period of time or face a fine, plus a daily fine if the offence continues. 11
www.encams.org Under the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse all duty land must be ‘zoned’. Each zone has a timescale within which those responsible for the land should return it to the standard given in the Code should cleanliness fall to an unacceptable level. Zoning maps produced by local authorities are public information and are available on request, usually at council offices or the library. What action can parish and town councils take Parish and town councils are able to authorise people to issue Fixed Penalty Notices for litter offences. However they must use the penalty level set by the local authority. The Code of Practice for Litter and Refuse The table that follows (pages 14-15) shows maximum response times for cleaning an area that has become adversely affected by litter, refuse and/or detritus. The table is taken from the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse. LITTER What can individuals do The best course of action for individuals is to not drop litter! People may also: pick up litter from their local area if it is safe to do so; monitor local litter levels; report problem areas to the local authority; and contact local schools if their pupils are littering. Members of the public are advised, however, not to approach or challenge litterers. The EPA 1990 gives individuals the right to take legal action under s.91 to require duty bodies to keep their land at the prescribed standard when an area falls below standard for longer than is allowed (see table on pp14-15). If individuals are not happy that an area is being cleaned up within the specified time or to the correct standard then they can make a formal complaint, being specific about the time and location concerned, to the relevant body. If this is the local authority then it may have a ‘litter hotline’ but otherwise complaints are usually dealt with by Cleansing, Environmental Health or Technical Services Departments. For other duty bodies complaints should be directed to the Estates Department or Grounds Manager. 12
Page 1 and 2: A GUIDE TO IMPROVING YOUR LOCAL ENV
Page 3 and 4: www.encams.org INTRODUCTION About E
Page 6 and 7: LITTER www.encams.org What is litte
Page 8 and 9: • The Secretary of State, for any
Page 10 and 11: Controlling the distribution of fre
Page 14 and 15: If individuals feel that the duty b
Page 16: Transport interchanges (Includes, r
Page 19 and 20: www.encams.org Irresponsible gum di
Page 21 and 22: www.encams.org - Any esplanade or p
Page 23 and 24: www.encams.org What can individuals
Page 25 and 26: www.encams.org ENCAMS produced a se
Page 28 and 29: WASTE - DOMESTIC & BUSINESS www.enc
Page 30 and 31: Who is responsible for business was
Page 32 and 33: What are the waste law penalties Br
Page 34 and 35: Action will be taken to prosecute t
Page 36 and 37: FLY-TIPPING www.encams.org What is
Page 38 and 39: • Illegal dumping can often invol
Page 40 and 41: Section 33C Forfeiture of vehicles
Page 42 and 43: • Did anyone else witness the fly
Page 44 and 45: ABANDONED & NUISANCE VEHICLES www.e
Page 46 and 47: What action can local authorities a
Page 48 and 49: The results of the campaign far exc
Page 50 and 51: FLYPOSTING www.encams.org What is f
Page 52 and 53: Highways Authorities • Can remove
Page 54 and 55: Highways Act 1980, s.132 It is an o
Page 56 and 57: GRAFFITI www.encams.org What is gra
Page 58 and 59: Sale of Aerosol Paint to Children (
Page 60: A total of 123 MPs signed up to the
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www.encams.org NEIGHBOUR NOISE What
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www.encams.org NEIGHBOUR NOISE Nois
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www.encams.org They also have a rig
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ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR www.encams.or
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The contract will specify a list of
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Part 2 Housing Gives local authorit
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GLOSSARY www.encams.org Abandoned V
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Defra Defra (Department for Environ
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Highways Agency The Highways Agency
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Parish Council A Secondary Authorit
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NOTES www.encams.org
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NOTES www.encams.org
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